Experiment

after finish the experiment I will send you a file to put the same answer ( data entry )

Please be prepared to take photos of your borax crystal (1 total)

NOTE: If you cannot find borax, use sugar or table salt. If you are using a substitute for borax, the crystal growth will take longer. Also, if you are using a substitute, make sure no solids remain on the bottom of the jar. The substance must be completely dissolved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDHlaTHbEgM&feature=youtu.be

Protocol @Home

Recorded Video

To be uploaded Tuesday

Photos

Step 1: Cut a pipe cleaner into thirds

picture 1

Step 2: Create your snowflake "skeleton" and wrap the two pieces around the first piece.

Step 3: Tie the snowflake with a string to a pencil (approximately measure the height of the string so that the snowflake is above the bottom of the glass). I've added two here since my jar was bigger - you don't have to.

Step 4: Boil enough water so that you have enough to fill your mason jar (or analogous glass container)

Step 5: After the water reaches boiling, turn off stove and slowly (table spoon by table spoon), stirring constantly, and keep adding until you you get to a point where when you add a tablespoon it won't dissolve.

Step 6: CAREFULLY pour the warm liquid in the mason jar with your snowflake inside. Feel free to add food coloring if you like! ( I poured mine over my sink, this will be a HOT solution, so please be careful).

Step 7: Leave it alone, undisturbed, for a minimum overnight.

Step 8: Take a picture of your snowflake!

Borax Crystal Snowflake: Physical Properties and Recrystallization
Background
Crystals are made when a substance has atoms or molecules that form in a very organized, repeating,
three-dimensional pattern. Usually when we think of crystals, we think of some well-known gemstones
like diamonds or rubies, but there are some very common crystals too. Sugar, ice, snowflakes, salt…All
of these are crystals. You can make your own crystals grow using borax. Borax is a laundry detergent
booster. You can find borax in the laundry room at home or in the laundry detergent section at the
grocery store.
You will be making a supersaturated solution. The borax is the SOLUTE in the solution and water is the
SOLVENT. In order to make a supersaturated solution, you will heat up water and stir in Borax. The heat
and stirring allows more borax to dissolve in the water than would normally dissolve at room
temperature. When the supersaturated solution is allowed to sit overnight, the borax will come out of
solution and make crystals on the pipe cleaner. This is similar to how rock candy is made and how
crystals are formed.
Materials
• Borax (If you cannot find borax, use sugar or table salt.)
• Wide mouth mason jar (pint-size)
• White pipe cleaners
• Pencil
• Boiling water
• Blue food coloring (optional)
• Scissors

Notes for Submission
If you have access to a printer, please print out any sheets on which you write down numbers,
observations, calculations, and answers to questions. If you do not have a printer, be prepared to neatly
write your data, observations, analysis, and responses to all questions on sheets of paper. Most likely,
you will be asked to take photos of your written pages, turn them into a single pdf file, and upload them
in Canvas for your instructor to grade. Be sure to follow any specific directions given to you by your
instructor.

Pre-Lab Questions

1. Is boiling water a physical or chemical change? Explain your answer with complete sentences.
2. List the pure substances and mixtures in this lab. (Read through the procedure.)
3. How many liquid ounces are in a pint? How many gallons is this? How many milliliters is this?
   Show your work. Record your answers to the correct number of significant figures.
4. List the postulates of Dalton’s atomic theory.
   Procedure
   NOTE: If you cannot find borax, use sugar or table salt. If you are using a substitute for borax, the crystal
   growth will take longer. Also, if you are using a substitute, make sure no solids remain on the bottom of
   the jar. The substance must be completely dissolved.
5. Cut the pipe cleaner into three equal pieces.
6. Twist the sections together at their centers to form a six-sided snowflake shape.
7. Using a length of string that is long enough to do so, tie one end of the string around the pencil
   and one end of the string to one of the ends of your snowflake.
8. Fill the jar with a pint of boiling water.
9. Record your observations of the dry borax in the Observations section.
10. Add three tablespoons of borax per one cup of boiling water, one tablespoon at a time, until
    completely dissolved. (If some borax remains undissolved, it is ok.)
11. If you wish, color the water with food coloring.
12. Rest the pencil on the jar, and completely submerge your snowflake in your borax solution. Note
    the appearance, and make a drawing in the Observations section.
13. Allow your jar to sit undisturbed overnight.
14. After the overnight step, note the appearance of your snowflake, and make a drawing in the
    Observations section.
15. Once your snowflake is formed, hang it in a window or a place where it can catch the sun.
16. If your instructor asks you to do so, take a photo of your snowflake, and submit it with your
    materials for this lab.

Observations and Post-Lab Questions

1. Describe what the dry borax looked like before dissolving in the boiling water.
2. In the table below, record your observations of the dissolved borax solution before the
   overnight step and after the overnight (recrystallization) step. Note the appearance of your
   snowflake.
   Before overnight recrystallization: After overnight recrystallization:
   Description: Description:
   Drawing: Drawing:
3. Which postulate of Dalton’s atomic theory is studied in this lab?
4. What do you see when the crystal snowflake catches the sun? What does it remind you of?